Your Health Still at Risk: How Coal Lobbyist Andrew Wheeler Will Pursue the Trump-Pruitt Industry Agenda at EPA Industry Insiders Hijack the EPA
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Your Health Still at Risk: How Coal Lobbyist Andrew Wheeler Will Pursue the Trump-Pruitt Industry Agenda at EPA Industry Insiders Hijack the EPA Andrew Wheeler and industry polluters put profits before people With Andrew l Wheeler, a Washington insider with Wheeler now Acting a keen understanding of politics, Administrator at continues Scott Pruitt’s assault on the Environmental EPA while doing so quietly Protection Agency, and more exactingly. President Trump is l The Agency’s mission is to protect making sure that human health and the environment. oversight of America’s Under the Trump administration, public health and environmental and with Wheeler at the helm, safeguards remains tightly in the grip EPA has come to look more like of corporate polluters. IPA: the Industry Protection Agency. A former lobbyist for one of America’s largest coal mining companies, Wheeler Who is Andrew joins a cadre of industry insiders that is Wheeler? attacking foundational EPA safeguards on an unprecedented and dangerous Wheeler’s history signals a man scale. indebted to industry and special interests — and one whose under- l With ties to oil and gas, chemical standing of Washington could make manufacturers, and other polluters, him an even graver threat than Wheeler and a long list of Trump his predecessor, Scott Pruitt. appointees have been seeking to Will he change course and redirect EPA gut EPA’s budget and eliminating toward its core mission, or continue the government protections for our air, Trump administration’s assault on one water, and soil. They are carrying out of the nation’s most critical agencies the President’s agenda of bending and the science and workforce that to industry’s will at the expense of undergirds it? families and communities. His history is not promising. Environmental Defense Fund 8/18 2 Coal Lobbyist Andrew Wheeler Wheeler’s career for nearly a decade, before becoming a senior Trump- appointed leader at EPA, focused on “He worked for lobbying for Murray Energy, one of me for 20 years. America’s largest coal companies. Didn’t want to It’s a startling truth: a former coal lose him.” lobbyist now sits atop EPA, an agency — Robert E. Murray with the core mission of protecting CEO of Murray Energy human health and the environment. POLITICO Pro Policy Summit 7/17/18 Coal threatens both. Will Andrew Wheeler? Note: For 10 of those 20 years, Wheeler worked as a Wheeler apparently had no issue congressional staffer — where representing the coal industry despite he was supposed to serve the the clear links between coal and its American taxpayers, not coal poisoning of the air that families executives. breathe and the water they drink — and changes to climate that are linked to more intense natural disasters and Recent decisions at EPA sea level rise. help the coal industry and His lobbying firm collected millions of threaten children’s health dollars from Murray Energy. He even Within his first two weeks on the job, served as President of the Washington Wheeler passed down a ruling that Coal Club. relaxed rules governing how dangerous coal ash is stored, an action that could Now, Wheeler is making decisions that allow for more toxins to seep into directly impact his longtime client and groundwater and make their way into other industries for which he once communities and homes. worked, such as oil and gas, agriculture, and chemicals. Not a good sign of what’s to come. Environmental Defense Fund 8/18 3 Wheeler lobbied for industry practices that create dirty air and water — hurting Americans and coal workers. Coal emissions Coal used to power our economy but to thwart runaway global warming, the today it can no longer compete with coal industry has been advocating for contain mercury, cleaner, cheaper fuel sources. The fewer safeguards on greenhouse gas nitrogen oxides, dangerous health effects of coal are emissions and US withdrawal from sulfur dioxide and well known. When burned, it releases international climate agreements. toxic air emissions such as mercury and Coal extraction is also one of the most other hazardous sulfur dioxide that contribute to asthma, dangerous professions in America, lung cancer, heart failure, and more. substances. with many coal workers suffering from The remnant of coal combustion, particularly adverse health problems, known as coal ash, can poison such as black lung disease. While Wheeler waterways and drinking supplies. lobbied for Murray, the coal giant was fined for multiple violations of worker Nonetheless, coal lobbyists like Wheeler safety standards, and its management have been working to prevent and roll allegedly threatened workers who tried back safeguards that limit how toxics are to flag safety concerns, according to discharged into the air and make their The Washington Post. way into water. Wheeler was long part of the industry’s Climate change can also largely be efforts to maintain its profits at the attributed to the burning of coal and expense of Americans’ health, worker other fossil fuels. Even as scientists, businesses and global leaders urge a safety and global climate. transition away from dirty fossil fuels This is the industry for which to cleaner sources of energy in an effort Andrew Wheeler chose to work. Environmental Defense Fund 8/18 4 Robert E. Murray: Coal Baron. Trump Insider. Wheeler Boss. Robert E. Murray, CEO of Murray Energy, has waged war against EPA for years. Now, the person he has relied on to be his voice and advocate in Washington, Andrew Wheeler, will head the EPA as Administrator. That could mean easier pursuit of a wish list, crafted by Murray and delivered to the Trump administration, which called for the destruction of various EPA health and safety safeguards and a 50% cut to EPA personnel. Murray has never hidden his disdain for EPA, saying of the agency, “I have nothing but contempt!” He was overjoyed by Scott Pruitt’s tenure as EPA Administrator, claiming a “wonderful victory” as Pruitt dismantled core public health and environmental protections. “Action Plan”. It was his priority wish list of tasks that would hollow “I have nothing but contempt!” out EPA and allow the fossil- — Robert E. Murray on EPA fuel industry to run rampant, regardless of the effects on people Murray’s history is one riddled with and communities. Those requests unabashed pollution, employee included eliminating the Clean mistreatment, and attempts to influence Power Plan, withdrawing from government to serve his company at the the Paris Climate Agreement, and expense of the public’s need for safe air cutting the staff of EPA. Work on the and clean water. wish list continues, with Murray saying the administration has A Dirty History already fulfilled his first page l Murray’s Secret Wish List of wishes. to Weaken EPA’s Ability to l Illegal Discharges that Safeguard Health Contaminated Water u According to The New York Times, u Murray Energy repeatedly contami- shortly after President Trump took nated waterways due to negligence office in March 2017, Murray sent and spills. to Vice President Mike Pence an CONTINUED Environmental Defense Fund 8/18 5 To limit its liability from discharges, u Multiple accusations have been Murray Energy lobbied in 2013 for made against Murray Energy’s Congress to stop EPA rules aimed treatment of employees. In 2014, at protecting streams from coal Murray Energy accused workers of mining. filing too many safety complaints, — Water used to wash newly mined and told them to think about “your coal spilled from a Murray job being suddenly gone.” Said Energy American Century one miner on safety concerns: “We pipeline in 2010 and fouled told them and told them, and they waterways in Ohio. Earlier, the didn’t do anything about it.” company negligently failed to u Murray also forced employees sample and monitor the flow of to attend, without pay, a 2012 pollutants and was fined campaign rally for presidential $7 million in 2008. candidate Mitt Romney. “If we did not go, we knew what would l Miner Safety and Coercion happen,” said one miner. of Employees u Murray Energy was one of two US l Hosted Trump Fundraisers with mining companies “with the worst Wheeler in Attendance safety records,” according to The u When did Andrew Wheeler become Washington Post in 2010. Murray, a supporter of President Trump? along with Massey Energy, had At a closed-door fundraiser for the more than 5,700 pending safety Trump campaign sponsored by violations. 40 lives were claimed in Bob Murray. It was reportedly at least three accidents at their sites there that Murray got behind the in the previous decade. Trump candidacy. Environmental Defense Fund 8/18 6 Wheeler’s Conflicts Because he has spent his career helping polluters weaken environmental safeguards, Andrew Wheeler will now regularly oversee EPA decisions that could benefit their bottom line. Wheeler’s list of clients include many companies that emit pollution that can threaten children and families — and who frequently lobby the EPA for favorable treatment. Wheeler even served as President and Vice President of the Washington Coal Club, a collection of coal companies and their lobbyists. WHEELER’S CLIENTS INDUSTRIES WHEELER’S CLIENTS INDUSTRIES Archer Daniels Midland Ethanol, food processing ICOR International Refrigerants Bear Head LNG Corporation Liquefied Natural Gas Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc. Used cars Celanese Corporation Chemicals/Materials International Paper Paper Coalition for Domestic Health Care KAR Holdings Used cars Medical Isotope Supply Martin Farms Agriculture Darling International Inc. Agriculture Murray Energy Coal Domestic Fuel Solutions Group Ethanol Energy Fuels Resources Inc. Uranium mining Nuclear Energy Institute Nuclear Enterprises Swanco LLC Agriculture Sargento Foods Inc. Cheese General Mills Food Whirlpool Corporation Appliances Growth Energy Ethanol Xcel Energy Energy EPA SAFEGUARDS WHY IT MATTERS WHEELER’S WAY Coal Plants: Requiring Cleaner Air Lung Diseases Dirty Air Climate Change As lobbyist for coal mining and energy EPA requires technology to scrub sulfur companies, Wheeler fought against dioxide from coal plants’ air pollution scrubbers to increase dangerous and reduce toxic mercury emissions pollutants and lobbied to increase from coal- and oil-fired plants.